I just think my complaint about the MD's soundstage not being as big as the hyperbole Head-fi as a whole claimed was one of many, many factors that made Dan strive to improved the openness of the Mad Dogs. I'm positive I'm probably a very small factor, as I'm sure Dan has never stopped wanting to improve his headphones.

I'm still skeptical. After all, closed is closed, and no matter what trickery is used, I just don't ever see a closed headphone sounding open. "Large soundstage for a closed headphone" is about as much as I expect from ANY closed headphone. I think part if it is due to the ruined isolation caused by open headphones. Hearing just a little external influence may trick our brains into a bigger sense of openness in sound. If you're completely closed off from external noise (no matter how low or silent a room is), I just think our brains will perceive it as closed sounding.

im leaning towards the asus dx but i don't think i has a headphone amp

DH = Dolby Headphone. I've owned all three cards. The Z is best for music. Go with the DX if you want DH for gaming. The sound of the DGX is poor, akin to today's onboard. If you go DX, be aware that you need a 4-pin power cable that can reach it and you may need to use the Unified Driver if you get crashes.

DH = Dolby Headphone. I've owned all three cards. The Z is best for music. Go with the DX if you want DH for gaming. The sound of the DGX is poor, akin to today's onboard. If you go DX, be aware that you need a 4-pin power cable that can reach it and you may need to use the Unified Driver if you get crashes.

That's a good question. The Z has a dedicated headphone amp (http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/7138) and lower output impedance, I'm not sure if the DX ouputs sound straight out of a single opamp or what not. Maybe someone here has paired the DX with the Q701 and can tell you their results.

Dolby Headphone is what Mad likes to use for surround processing. I like Creative's last effort, THX TruStudio Pro because it had less echo and distortion, but they're pretty close. Creative's Soundblaster Z has the newer SBX for surround processing, amp, and also includes a beamforming microphone that does a decent job. I suggested the DG if you like DH because PurpleAngel has been recommending that as a budget sound card for a year.